For a long time, sports historians had regarded the Roman imperial period as a period of decline in the history of Greek athletics. In the last few decades, however, scholars have revealed that athletic competitions retained their outstanding importance in Greek society under Roman dominance. The abundance of literary, epigraphic, papyrological and archaeological evidence, the well-documented existence of thousands of athletes and of more than 500 agones leave no doubt about this fact. It is therefore unsurprising to observe that athletics appears frequently in the writings of Roman jurists and in legal papyri, which constitute the topic of Maria Vittoria Bramante’s book. It comprises a collection of sources with commentaries, divided into six thematic blocks: on the social status of athletes; on the monthly pensions athletes received from their home poleis; on athletes’ loans; on the privileges of athletes before the Tetrarchy; on the reorganization of the privileges under Diocletian; on corruption, injuries and deadly accidents. Addressing historical questions in a broader context lies beyond the scope of the book.
The ancient texts are quoted in Greek and Latin, most of them are accompanied by Italian translations, and are provided with well-informed explanatory commentaries. In the footnotes, Bramante provides exhaustive references to the scholarly bibliography for each source, but regrettably she does not connect her own comments to the state of research. The reader, therefore, struggles to ascertain whether she is referring to something that is generally known or whether she is taking a side in a controversial debate or if she is presenting her own considerations. Nonetheless, the book is extremely useful for anyone interested in the intersection of law and sport, both for legal historians and for sports historians. The exciting texts presented by Bramante include, for example, the testament of a traveling athlete, who stipulates that the pensions due to him should be paid to his son in the event of his death (P.Ryl. II 153: pp. 48-66), the reflections of Cervidius Scaevola concerning the circumstances under which unsuccessful athletes would be obligated to repay a loan granted to them to finance their training (Dig. 22.2,5 pr.-1: pp. 75-81) or a “bribery contract” in which the intentional loss of a young wrestler in exchange for money is regulated in detail (P.Oxy. LXXIX 5209: pp. 172-178); one wonders what the legal impact of a contract like this would have been.
Some comments on details: Bramante emphasizes that Greek athletes were free men (pp. 1-8). While this statement is generally accurate, it is important to note that during the imperial period, there is evidence for slaves participating in local contests (Artem. 1.62; SEG VI 449). P.Herm. 54 and other letters of athletes to the council of Hermupolis (pp. 46-48) are now available in a new edition with extensive commentary.[1] In the famous correspondence between Pliny and Trajan concerning the monthly pensions for athletes, Bramante gives the following text for a corrupt passage in the emperor’s reply (Plin. Ep. 10.122: p. 40): nec proficere pro desiderio athletarum potest, quod eorum, quae postea iselastica non esse constitui, quam vicerunt, accipere desierunt. (“Né giova a sostegno della supplica degli atleti, a questa loro pretesa, asserire e addurre che non riscuotono la loro ricompensa per quei giochi che quando vinsero erano iselastici e successivamente non lo sono più.”). This is in accordance with most editions, but see now Christoph Begass’ strong arguments in favor of lege instead of non esse.[2] The praemia in a passage in Papinian (Dig. 42,1,40: commodis praemiorum, quae propter coronas sacras praestantur) have been understood as victory prizes so far,[3] while Bramante assumes a reference to the monthly pensions for athletes. This solution is much more plausible, both from a linguistic and from a historical perspective.
The author has produced a collection of considerable usefulness, which demonstrates the complexity of Greek sport and its diverse legal aspects. One cannot but agree with Bramante’s final words: “l’atletismo non fu assolutamente un fenomeno marginale nell’esperienza giuridica romana.” (219). Subsequent research on this subject will benefit from this sourcebook.[4]
Notes
[1] Mary Drew-Bear, Les archives du conseil municipal d’Hermoupolis Magna, Berlin – Boston 2020 (Corpus Papyrorum Raineri XXXV), nos. 46-63.
[2] Christoph Begass, “Pliny, Trajan and the Introduction of the Iselasticvm for Victorious Athletes,” CQ 73, 2023, 837-844.
[3] E.g. Andreas Wacke, “Athleten als Darlehensnehmer nach römischem Recht,” Gymnasium 86, 1979, 149-164, here 161, and Éva Jakab, “Sponsoren und Athleten im römischen Recht. Das ‘Ausbildungsdarlehen’ der Athleten?,” in: Kaja Harter-Uibopuu – Thomas Kruse (ed.), Sport und Recht in der Antike, Wien 2014, 249-273, here 258.
[4] Since Bramante’s book was published, a detailed treatment of athletics in the legislation of late antiquity has appeared: Marius Kalfelis, Munera und Agone in der Gesetzgebung der Spätantike, Berlin – Boston 2024, 121-210.